“I’ve spent a lot of time ferrying provincial Kansans around to tourist spots,” says Mark Burleson, missionary to Ecuador and founder of Christian Teenage Sightseeing, Inc. “I finally decided to roll with it and make a business.”

Many missionary companies follow a “build-then-bask” strategy, hosting church groups for a week of church construction, evangelism and “perceived spiritual impact,” followed by a guided tour of the country. Tour packages often net the missionary $10,000 or more per group.

“When the trip is over, we give them pins that say, ‘I’m a short-term missionary!'” says one missionary-tour guide. “It makes them feel good.”

Savvy missionaries who embrace the tour group concept often quit itinerating; some instead visit Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise regularly to learn “how to entertain groups of bumptious, culturally ignorant tourists who tend to ask the same questions over and over,” says a missionary who requested anonymity.

Denominations have so far turned a blind eye to the practice.

“I do exactly what I’ve always done, but make tons more money than I did itinerating,” says Indonesia missionary Greg Nichols, founder of Spiritual Impact Vacations. “We get money we need to win souls, short-termers get the spiritual wham-bam they want, plus the sightseeing they demand. They take it back to their church. More groups come. We all win.” •